"This, I am never letting go," he said afterward at police headquarters. "He gave me police department commissioner cuff links . . . He showed me his, and they were identical. So I have to buy a little more dress shirts to wear them with."

DePrimo, 25, an officer with less than three years' experience, rocketed to fame when a tourist's snapshot was posted on the NYPD's Facebook page. It shows him in uniform, giving shoes and socks to an unidentified man the night of Nov. 14 near Times Square. The photo has been viewed 1.9 million times to date, the department said.

Concerned about the man's well-being in frigid weather, DePrimo said he paid $75 out of his own pocket for the insulated shoes and thermal socks.